I recently received a pair of Meta Wayfarer smart glasses (Gen 2) as a gift. To be honest, I hadn’t looked into them much before they arrived, but once I started exploring, I realized these are far more than just stylish Ray-Bans with a camera.
The “Hidden” Power on My Face
After a few weeks of testing, I was blown away by what these glasses can actually do:
- The Basics: They are excellent sunglasses, and the phone app integration is seamless.
- Media & Calls: I can listen to music or audiobooks via the open-ear speakers and take phone calls hands-free.
- Point-of-View Capture: Taking 12MP photos and 1080p videos exactly as I see them is a game-changer.
- Multimodal AI: I can look at a monument, a plant, or even a menu and ask, “Hey Meta, what am I looking at?” or “Summarize this text.” It even handles real-time voice translation.
The Progressively Difficult Problem
However, as I integrated them into my life, I hit a major roadblock. I wear progressive lenses, primarily for reading. Since my Wayfarers came with standard grey sun lenses, I faced two big issues:
- Indoor Use: I can’t use the AI features indoors because it’s too dark.
- The Reading Gap: I can’t read a map, a phone screen, or a book while wearing them.
I went to get a quote to replace the lenses with Progressive Transitions (lenses that darken in the sun and stay clear inside). The quote came back at nearly $500.
Exploring the Alternatives
I spent some time weighing my options, and it was a bit of a “logical puzzle”:
- The Transition Trap: If I switched to Transitions, they wouldn’t darken inside a car (since windshields block the UV light that triggers the tint). I’d lose my primary “driving glasses.”
- The “Double-Up” Hack: Surprisingly, I found I could wear the Wayfarers over my regular progressives fairly comfortably for short periods, but it’s not exactly a “style icon” look.
- Only Bifocals? I considered making the dark lenses non-progressive bifocals to save money, but I wasn’t sure if the savings would be significant.
The Minimalist Solution: Stick-On Bifocals
After some deep-dive research, I found a low-cost “hacker” solution: Stick-on bifocal lenses.
These are small, clear adhesive lenses that you apply to the bottom of your existing sunglasses. They turn any pair of glasses into bifocals for a fraction of the cost of prescription lenses. I am currently testing this out to see if it solves my reading issue without sacrificing the “sunglass” utility of the Wayfarers.
The Verdict (For Now)
For now, I’m keeping the original grey lenses. The stick-on bifocals might be the “Minimum Viable Product” solution I need. It keeps my driving glasses dark, gives me the ability to read my phone, and saves me $500.
